Bands in the Campo

 There are some things that are just totally unexpected. We had made the decision to come home to the Campo for Christmas. Our reception had been everything we could have asked for, warm, welcoming and loving. The last weekend had arrived and we sat thinking that time was catching up to us. Tears were about to flow again and the long unhappy return to Florida was approaching in "quicktime". As we sipped our cappuchino we heard some musical notes rising from the Piazza Farnese. Nothing else sounds like an American marching band and those notes told us that we had not been the only Americans on the plane to Rome. An international cultural exchange had brought several bands to Rome for the holidays. Ranging from an older Dixieland group out of  New Orleans to a young California based High School group and other US cities represented as well, those were the sounds we were hearing.

The shiny, glistening, beautifully curved tuba served as a basis for many of these shots. During our visits to Rome and the Campo we had seen many festivals, demonstrations, etc, but this parade, more than any other demonstrated to me just what a magical location we were in.
Even Bruno seemed to enjoy the joyous noise...can't you tell?